Structure for use in river and sea



Dec. 5, 1967 HI C. V IDAL STRUCTURE FOR USE IN RIVER AND SEA Filed Marh 23, 1964 United States Patent 3,355,894 STRUCTURE FOR USE IN RIVER AND SEA Henri Charles Vidal, 17 Rue Armengaud,

Saint-Cloud, France Filed Mar. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 354,038 Claims priority, application France, Mar. 27, 1963,

5 Claims. (Cl. 61-4) In the construction of sea and river works such as quayside walls, dams, groynes, coflerdarns etc., or when protecting such works, it is usual to deposit or to dump rubble, concrete, metal etc., to form permeable masses capable of withstanding the swell or currents and which can be used as footings for the foundations of or as part of such works.

These masses are formed with slopes which vary according to the intended use of the words. Thus the slope may approximate to the angle of repose of the poured rubble when the mass is to dissipate only negligible forces; on the other hand, the slope can be relatively small when the mass is to remain stable under the action of strong current or storm swells of great amplitude.

The invention provides a structural element which, when used instead of the usual rubble or concrete or metal elements, leads to the construction of a mass having any desired free surface such as a one which, for the same aggressive conditions of swell or current is more steep than that of conventional masses and therefore leads to an appreciable economy of materials.

It is a characteristic feature of this structural element that it comprises a number of heads connected together by narrow parts, which may for example, be threadlike.

Such elements may be .used individually if they are sufliciently long or in large numbers if they are short, by disposing them according to a predetermined pattern or at random. The result is a mass which is coherent and the batter of which is steep and may even be vertical or be beyond the vertical so that the mass can have any desired shape.

The heads which may be hollow, solid or apertured can be of any desired material and can be of any desired shape. They can, for example, be spherical blocks or balls of concrete which are fixed to a flexible tie like the beads of a chaplet so as to form a chain. Such a chain can, alone or in combination with other identical chains be wound, folded or crossed over itself so as to form a coherent interlocked mass of any desired shape the face of which can be vertical or even have overhanging parts.

Instead of carrying balls, the flexible tie may carry bundles of pointed elements, or porcupines, preferably of metal. A mass made up of such elements has the features of being of relatively low density and of great elasticity whereas masses formed of chains of concrete balls are of high density, great hardness and small elasticity. Intermediate characteristics can be obtained by making the heads of a material and a shape between those of concrete balls and bundles of pointed elements.

The structural element in accordance with the invention can also have two heads connected together flexibly or rigidly. When such elements are thrown into a random heap, they interlock to some extent so that by ordinary loose dumping natural slopes of 1:1 and even steeper can be obtained.

The two heads of an element and the tie or rod by which they are joined can be of the same or of different materials. Thus conventional stone blocks or concrete blocks can be used for the heads and the connect- 3,355,894 Patented Dec. 5, 1967 ing rod can be a rigid or flexible bar of steel anchored in the heads. The heads can also be connected together by concrete which may or may not be reinforced.

It will be noted that the works or parts of works formed of structural elements in accordance with the invention can be designed in accordance with the methods described in the patent application tiled in France by the present applicant on Mar. 27, 1963, under No. 929,421 in respect of Improvements in Structures.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be revealed in the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing given solely by way of example:

FIG. 1 shows a structural element in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sketch showing an example of the laying of the element of FIG. 1 for the construction of a coherent mass;

FIG. 3 is a modified form of the element of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4-6 are examples of elements in accordance with the invention having two heads;

FIG. 7 shows the combination of two elements in accordance with FIG. 4 connected together by a flexible tie;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic View of a darn comprising a mass made up of elements in accordance with FIG. 4.

The structural element E shown in FIG. 1 is formed of a cable 21, for example of a rustless metal or of synthetic fibres, to which are fixed regularly spaced spherical heads 22 of concrete reinforced concrete or other cast material through which the cable passes diametrically. The ball chain thus produced can be made to take up any shape as is indicated by the crossed lengths shown at the right hand end of FIG. 1. To avoid the risk of rupture of the cable where it leaves the balls. 22, the latter are provided at the two appropriate points with bell mouths having rounded lips.

FIG. 2 shows a chain 24 of indefinite length and formed like the element E of FIG. 1 being laid by means of a machine having a driven notched wheel 26 over which the chain passes, for the construction of a mass 27 having a vertical face 23 and a face 29 with an overhanging portion. The chain 24 is laid alternately backwards and forwards to form superimposed beds or vertical slices. Any length of chain can be laid in position in any desired direction.

The chain 24 can also be used so as to form a kind of tower the beds of which are formed alternately by winding the chain spirally and folding it back and forth radially.

In FIG. 3, the cable is provided not with balls 22 but with bundles or porcupines 31 formed assemblies of bars or of profiled sections disposed two by two at right angles to each other.

The structural element E shown in FIG. 4 is formed of two solid spherical heads 1 and 2 of the same diameter which are intergral with a strangulated core 3 connecting them together.

In FIG. 5, the element E is in the form of a dumbell of which the two spheres 1 and 2, which may be of concrete, are connected by a rigid or flexible rod or armature 4 which may be of copper, brass, etc.

The element E of FIG. 6 has two identical cubical heads 6, 7 and a flexible tie 8 the ends of which are captive in the respective heads.

FIG. 7 shows two elements E connected together by a flexible tie 9 tied or otherwise fixed by its ends to the core 3 of the elements.

FIG. 8 shows as an example of a sea work formed of structural elements of the type of FIGS. 4-6, a dam exposed on one side to the action of the swell H and defining on the other side the limit of a zone of calm water L. The surface of the conventional rubble core which faces the open sea is protected by a mass 14 formed by dumping elements such as E the batter of the mass being substantially steeper than that which would be necessary with a mass formed of ordinary rubble.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the forms of construction shown in the drawings as described above. Thus, the heads which have been shown could be replaced by thick discs, cones, assemblies of profiled sections forming polyhedra, etc. Also the invention can be applied to land works.

Having now described my invention What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A structure, in particular for use in river and sea, said structure comprising at least one unit consisting of a plurality of rigid members constituting heads and a continuous long flexible element which is thin relative to said members, said members being rigidly secured to said element and spaced apart from each other and defining recesses in said unit between consecutive members each of said recesses between consecutive members opening in opposite directions outwardly from said element, said unit having a plurality of portions providing said members secured on said element, said portions being adjacent and in overlapping relation to each other in layers with opposite sides of the portions of each intermediate layer being engaged by an adjoining portion of adjacent ones of said layers, said members of each of said portions of the intermediate layers extending into said recesses of the adjoining portions of the adjacent layers on opposite sides thereof, whereby said structure has sufiicient stability to retain its shape.

2. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said members are substantially spherical and said element is threaddike.

3. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said members are spaced equal distances apart on said element.

4. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said members are spaced apart from each other a distanceexceeding the overall size of each member.

5. A structure, such as a tower, in particular for use in river and sea, said structure comprising at least one unit consisting of a plurality of rigid blocks constituting heads on a flexible tie which is thin relative to the blocks, said blocks being rigidly secured to said tie and spaced apart from each other and defining recesses opening upwardly and downwardly between successive blocks, said unit having a plurality of portions respectively disposed one above the other in a plurality of superimposed adjoining layers, some of said portions respectively extending spirally in every other of said layers and others of said portions extending radially back and forth relative to the centre of said structure in layers interposed between and adjoining said every other layers, said blocks of each of said portions of the layers intermediate the uppermost and lowermost layers extendinto said recesses of the adjoining portions of the adjacent layer above and below said respective intermediate layer portion, whereby said structure has suflicient stability to retain its shape.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 529,580 11/1894 Baptist 613-8 1,252,678 1/1918 Farney 6138 1,554,605 9/1925 Smith 61-3 1,847,852 3/1932 Upson 6138 2,766,592 10/1956 Danel et al 6137 X 2,803,113 8/1957 Hoad 614 2,909,037 10/1959 Palmer 61-4 3,022,632 2/1962 Parks 61--5 OTHER REFERENCES Engineering News-Record; May 25, 1950; pp. 43 and 44.

EARL J. WITMER, Primary Examiner. 

5. A STRUCTURE, SUCH AS A TOWER, IN PARTICULAR FOR USE IN RIVER AND SEA, SAID STRUCTURE COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE UNIT CONSISTING OF A PLURALITY OF RIGID BLOCKS CONSTITUTING HEADS ON A FLEXIBLE TIE WHICH IS THIN RELATIVE TO THE BLOCKS, SAID BLOCKS BEING RIGIDLY SECURED TO SAID TIE AND SPACED APART FROM EACH OTHER AND DEFINING RECESSES OPENING UPWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE BLOCKS, SAID UNIT HAVING A PLURALITY OF PORTIONS RESPECTIVELY DISPOSED ONE ABOVE THE OTHER IN A PLURALITY OF SUPERIMPOSED ADJOINING LAYERS, SOME OF SAID PORTIONS RESPECTIVELY EXTENDING SPIRALLY IN EVERY OTHER OF SAID LAYERS AND OTHERS OF SAID PORTIONS EXTENDING RADIALLY BACK AND FORTH RELATIVE TO THE CENTRE OF SAID STRUCTURE IN LAYERS INTERPOSED BETWEEN AND ADJOINING SAID EVERY OTHER LAYERS, SAID BLOCKS OF EACH OF SAID PORTIONS OF THE LAYERS INTERMEDIATE THE UPPERMOST AND LOWERMOST LAYERS EXTENDINTO SAID RECESSES OF THE ADJOINING PORTIONS OF THE ADJACENT LAYER ABOVE AND BELOW SAID RESPECTIVE INTERMEDIATE LAYER PORTION, WHEREBY SAID STRUCTURE HAS SUFFICIENT STABILITY TO RETAIN ITS SHAPE. 